The Evening Wrap: Ghosts of aircraft deals past

Past aircraft deals are coming back to haunt the government again with two such deals back in focus today. The first is the Rafale deal, in which the Indian government purchased multi-role combat aircraft from the French company Dassualt. The French investigative website Mediapart has now alleged that a middleman, Sushen Gupta, was paid at least 7.5 million euros by Dassault between 2007 and 2012 to secure the purchase. Apparently, the payment was facilitated through a shell company in the Mauritius which was "overbilled" for IT contracts. A more stinging allegation is that the CBI has not probed this even though the papers on this have been available since October 2018. The Mauritian Authorities had sent the papers to the CBI when in connection with the probe into the AugustaWestland VVIP chopper kickback deal case. Sushen Gupta, who is said to have facilitated the kickback payment in that deal, was arrested by the ED in 2019 in the same case. Coincidentally, this news comes a day after news reports about the government lifting the ban on the Italian Defence company involved in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal. The procurement ban was lifted just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Rome. Rain in Chennai Tamil Nadu, and Chennai in particular, continued to get rainfall on Monday though not in the same intensity as it saw on Sunday. Streets remained flooded in the city and the government stepped up precautionary measures. Relief material was distributed in several areas as water entered houses. Rain is expected to continue in the region for the next 48 hours. Supreme Court recommendation on Lakhimpur Kheri The Supreme Court has once again expressed the need for a "fair and impartial" probe into the Lakhmpur Kheri incident in which 8 people were killed. It has suggested that the Uttar Pradesh government to appoint a retired High Court judge, preferably one who served outside the State, to monitor the probe without bias. Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Mishra, is a prime accused in the case. The suggestion to have a retired judge at the helm came after the court expressed its waning confidence about the fate of the investigation at the hands of the State police. Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,43,66,767 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,61,050. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 08 NOVEMBER 2021 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Ghosts of aircraft deals past Past aircraft deals are coming back to haunt the government again with two such deals back in focus today. The first is the Rafale deal, in which the Indian government purchased multi-role combat aircraft from the French company Dassualt. The [French investigative website Mediapart has now alleged that a middleman]( Sushen Gupta, was paid at least 7.5 million euros by Dassault between 2007 and 2012 to secure the purchase. Apparently, the payment was facilitated through a shell company in the Mauritius which was "overbilled" for IT contracts. A more stinging allegation is that the CBI has not probed this even though the papers on this have been available since October 2018. The Mauritian Authorities had sent the papers to the CBI when in connection with the probe into the AugustaWestland VVIP chopper kickback deal case. Sushen Gupta, who is said to have facilitated the kickback payment in that deal, was arrested by the ED in 2019 in the same case. Coincidentally, this news comes a day after news reports about the government lifting the ban on the Italian Defence company involved in the AgustaWestland helicopter deal. The procurement ban was lifted just days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s meeting with his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Rome. [underlineimg] Rain in Chennai [With the northeast monsoon continuing to bring heavy rains to Chennai, inundating several areas, families are leaving their homes for safer places. A family is seen using an inflatable bath tub to take their children to safety on November 8, 2021.]  [Tamil Nadu, and Chennai in particular]( continued to get rainfall on Monday though not in the same intensity as it saw on Sunday. Streets remained flooded in the city and the government stepped up precautionary measures. Relief material was distributed in several areas as water entered houses. Rain is expected to continue in the region for the next 48 hours. [underlineimg] Supreme Court recommendation on Lakhimpur Kheri The [Supreme Court has once again expressed the need for a "fair and impartial"]( probe into the Lakhmpur Kheri incident in which 8 people were killed. It has suggested that the Uttar Pradesh government to appoint a retired High Court judge, preferably one who served outside the State, to monitor the probe without bias. Ashish Mishra, son of Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Ajay Mishra, is a prime accused in the case. The suggestion to have a retired judge at the helm came after the court expressed its waning confidence about the fate of the investigation at the hands of the State police. [underlineimg] Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 3,43,66,767 at the time of publishing this newsletter, with the death toll at 4,61,050. [underlineimg] Evening Wrap will return tomorrow.  Today's Top Picks [[Data | Despite getting less rainfall than 2020, Chennai streets are waterlogged. Here is why] Data | Despite getting less rainfall than 2020, Chennai streets are waterlogged. Here is why]( [[Amid widespread flooding, Vedanthangal bird sanctuary has not enough water] Amid widespread flooding, Vedanthangal bird sanctuary has not enough water]( [[Man kills wife for delay in giving bath towel] Man kills wife for delay in giving bath towel]( [[Google honours biologist Kamal Ranadive with doodle] Google honours biologist Kamal Ranadive with doodle]( Copyright @ 2021, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](